Chapter 47

 

“Thanks, but I don’t need it. When it comes to energy, it’s Joo Ho-hyun. What kind of potion is it? It’ll be perfect for you. You’re so busy these days.”

 

“I got it for you. You’re not sick, but you always faint.”

 

“I was fine yesterday and the day before yesterday. I don’t need it.”

 

“Just accept it when I’m giving it to you.”

 

“You’re saying that I should say thank you and accept it when an adult is giving it to me!”

 

“Should I just call you a healer?”

 

“Ah… Come on……. Then you should eat it, too.”

 

What’s up with him? Han Seo-jin, who did not back down easily, eventually took two at once and handed me one of them. Watching Han Seo-jin put his mouth together with a rugged expression, I also confided in him at once.

 

I feel refreshed all over my body.

 

All abnormalities had been recovered.

 

It made my steps lighter. And improved my mobility skills.

 

Certainly, the effect of lightening the body was excellent. It tastes good, too. I smacked my lips at the taste of the potion that disappeared quickly. Then I jumped up because I remembered that I had prepared something for Han Seo-jin.

 

“Where are you going?”

 

“Wait. I have something to give you, too.”

 

I entered the next room and took out the gift box I had put in the drawer. As I approached him with it, a question mark arose on Han Seo-jin’s face.

 

“What is that?”

 

“Seo-jin ah.”

 

Han Seo-jin froze when I called his name. When I saw that Han Seo-jin’s face became alert as I handed out a gift-wrapped case, I burst into laughter. I grabbed his firm wrist and put the case on Han Seo-jin’s hand.

 

“Come on.”

 

“……Hyung. What are you doing……. What is this?”

 

“What do you mean, it’s a gift. A watch. It contains mana stones, you know? If you request it to the blacksmith later, you’ll be able to put a small skill in it.”

 

“……I know what it is. Why do you have money to buy something like this?”

 

Of course, it was a very unreasonable amount to buy due to Joo Ho-hyun’s financial situation, but I just scratched it because it was money that I had to leave when I left the center anyway.

 

“The gift is my heart, dude. Aren’t you going to open it?”

 

“What, what’s in your heart……!”

 

Han Seo-jin, whose face was beet red, took a step back. The way he looked at the case in my hand without saying anything was a little different from what I imagined.

 

“What is it? You don’t like it?”

 

I chose this because it was a watch from my favorite brand that goes well with Han Seo-jin.

 

I rubbed my neck awkwardly and said it as if I were making an excuse without realizing it.

 

“No, I thought it would suit you……. If you don’t like it, I will take the warranty and change it. No refund, uh!”

 

Han Seo-jin opened his eyes wide, rushed in, and hugged me before I could finish talking. When I looked up, Han Seo-jin’s ears were as red as if he were going to explode with his face on my shoulder.

 

‘Ho ho. I guess he likes it. Of course he did; it cost a lot.’

 

It was the price for an ordinary hunter to lie down sick for three months and nights after seeing the amount withdrawn.

 

Even though it was a touching time, two men hugging each other was a bit uncomfortable. I tried to twist my body slightly and get out, but I felt a force in my arm across my back that hugged me tighter. A deep, husky voice came out.

 

“What kind of intention is this?”

 

“……What?”

 

“If you don’t answer, I’ll think as I please.”

 

“Really?”

 

When I answered casually, Han Seo-jin smiled brightly and rose up. Han Seo-jin, who untied the ribbon that tied the gift box, muttered while looking down at the watch that appeared.

 

“Hyung gave me this…… I won’t forget this feeling. Thank you.”

 

***

 

I shouted urgently at the knock on the door outside as if to come out quickly.

 

“I’ll be over soon!”

 

There was a white, unlabeled medicine case in front of me. When I held the medicine bottle in one hand and used the skill, a status window appeared in front of me.

 

For [Suspicious Compound], use &lt;Unjust Law is Law, Poison is Medicine ^[1] <악법도 법이다> is a literal korean translation of Socrates’s ‘It is harsh but it’s law.’ Poison is 독약 while 약 is medcine so posion just have an extra 독 in front of medicine. >.

 

The skill chosen as a reward for the quest, “Unjust law is law, poison is medicine,” was literally a skill that changed medicine to poison and poison to medicine. 

 

There has been no use so far because the results are fixed at a similar level to the target, and there is a risk of a month of delay for each use. If you need anything, you can just make it!

 

But I didn’t expect it to be this helpful.

 

.

 

.

 

[Suspicious compound] was reborn as [Quiet Assassin].

 

[You have the medicine into poison. Unjust law is now working and side effects have increased.]

 

[The waiting time for <Unjust Law is Law, Poison is Medicine> is 23 hours and 59 minutes left on the 29th.]

 

[Your hands are getting dull. The success rate of potion production is reduced by 10%.]

 

[Lower tolerance to poison.]

 

[You are not able to tell which ingredients are blurry. Emotional success rate drops by 15%.]

 

This is why I hate it. I didn’t use it much becasue there are restrictions that follow. I shook my hand to blow out the notifications that came up in front of me and checked the changed medicine.

 

<Quiet Assassin>

 

It is a weak toxin, but if consumed steadily, it accumulates in the body and attacks mana.

 

The use of force in a state of addiction causes side effects.

 

“All right.”

 

As the raw material was an auxiliary agent, the result gradually turned into a toxic substance.

 

I’m going to run away alive, but anyway, YeSungwoo killed Joohyun, so I have to pay the price.

 

“Hey!”

 

“Oh, I’m going out!”

 

At Han Seo-jin’s urging, he put the medicine bottle in a well-visible place and rushed out.

 

***

 

“Gate’s wave is different from usual, so finish as soon as possible and come back!”

 

“Yes! I see.”

 

Arriving in front of the dungeon gate reminded me of my previous visit.

 

“It’s been years, but the surroundings are the same.”

 

In order for a potion maker to sign a good guild or become famous, it must first create its own potion. Portion makers, who are unable to receive support due to a lack of guilds, often enter dungeons to collect ingredients.

 

Of course, I started with materials supported by Knox from the beginning, so it didn’t happen, but sometimes there were “inherent items” that could not be transferred to others among the materials needed for the potion. My few dungeon expeditions were all due to attributable items, and so was this dungeon.

 

I was annoyed to come with Tae Jae-heon then, but I didn’t expect to get help from what he told me. It was something I knew but didn’t know. As I looked around and felt my chest, I felt a glass bottle that I had put deep inside.

 

The previous teams entered the gate one by one, and soon it was our team’s turn.

 

Han Seo-jin joined the suppression team in this operation, and the guide protection was replaced by Woo Han-se. Han Seo-jin looked at Woo Han-se with bitter eyes, turned his gaze to me, and said,

 

“Do you want to hang out after the mission today?”

 

“What? Without coming back?”

 

“Just. It’s been a while since I’ve been to the sea.”

 

“Ah…….”

 

I couldn’t bear to answer, but I jabbed inside, equivocating.

 

“Hurry up and go in. I’ll wait inside.”

 

“Be careful too, hyung.”

 

Han Seo-jin stepped into the gate at my urging to get in quickly. And at that moment, words jumped out of my mouth without realizing it.

“Thank you for all this time.”

 

Han Seo-jin hurriedly looked back. He waved his hand while grinning widely and arched his brows as if he was perplexed as to why.

 

“Don’t get hurt!!”

 

Han Seo-jin urgently reached out and shouted something, but the gate wave hit him. Subsequently, the gate was completely closed when the remaining Esper entered the gate.

 

“I’ll change the warp position.”

 

The manager who stepped forward touched the operating department. The gate to the safe zone opened again, and a blue wave unfolded in front of the Guides.

 

The first to step into it.

 

***

 

“I’ll wait here for a while until a bunch of monsters pass in front of me. Hey, Joo Ho-hyun. Don’t think about acting individually; wait.”

 

Woo Han-se said, picking up on me. However, I already have thoughts of acting individually in my head, so I heard them in one ear and kicked them out in the other.

 

Perhaps because he was playing a role that he did not usually play, the appearance of the Woo Hanse was awkward. I moved along with other team guides, and Espers, who leads the team against Woo Han-se, looked much more familiar and experienced at first glance.

 

It was such a shame to see Woo Han-se, who had a very high level of medicine, bluffing while being conscious of other teams.

 

“Looking at it, I think we’ll be there soon. If it’s okay to attack, I can burn it and kill it quickly.”

 

“Hyung, don’t worry too much. That kind of grade is a one-shot cut even if you come in.”

 

Ye Seong-woo and Park Ga-in smiled awkwardly and responded to each other. Standing one step away, I shook my head and looked at the river far away.

 

‘I have to go fast.’

 

Soon after, all the monsters passed and the road opened. The Wuhan tax shouted irritably at me, who had fallen.

 

“Why don’t you come quickly?”

 

“I’m coming.”

 

As predetermined, the safe zone was located upstream of the river. It was easy to be wary of monsters’ movements, and it was close to the entrance of the dungeon, making it easy to escape in case of an attack.

 

The place I had to go was down the river. I glanced down to see how to get there. I thought it would be easy because I had seen geography while moving through the sky in the past, but when I came down to the bottom and faced a road full of trees, rocks, and bushes, I couldn’t really guess how to go through it.

 

“We’ll stand by on the left.”

 

“Well, that’s fine. Everyone, come this way!!”

 

I joined the group and sat next to Park Ga-in.

 

• 1. <악법도 법이다> is a literal korean translation of Socrates’s ‘It is harsh but it’s law.’ Poison is 독약 while 약 is medcine so posion just have an extra 독 in front of medicine.